Cockscome (Celosia cristata L.) is a traditional medicine herb used for treatment of fatigue, atherosclerosis,
leucorrhoea and osteoporosis (1). The chemical constituents of this plant include
mainly flavonoids (2). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant compounds
and antioxidant activities of the methanolic extracts and solvent fractions from cockscome
flowers. To determine the antioxidant compounds in the methanolic extract and solvent
fractions, the content of total polyphenol, flavonoid and tannin were measured by
spectrophotometric methods. These were evaluated for antioxidative activities by DPPH
and ABTS radical scavenging activities. The yield of methanolic extracts, hexane,
chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water fractions of cockscome flowers were
23.33, 10.27, 20.00, 13.63, 17.55 and 38.54%, respectively. The total polyphenol,
flavonoids and tannin contents of methanolic extracts on the cockscome flowers were
6.80, 2.34 and 6.23mg/g extract residue, respectively. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging
activities of the methanolic extracts on the cockscome flowers were 52.43 and 107.01mg
Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity per g extract residue, respectively. The results
of this study show that notable antioxidant activities in cockscome flowers are considered
to have significant health benefits.
Keywords: Cockscome (Celosia cristata L.), polyphenol, flavonoid, antioxidant activity
References: 1. Wang Y et al. (2010) Fitoterapia 81: 1246.
2. Weng DB et al. (1995) Acta Nutrimenta Sinica 17: 59.
